The changes being made to City of Cape Town's zoning and planning approvals system will soon be implemented and, when they come into effect, you must be sure you won't have "lost" rights on the property, although in some cases you may have gained, says Lanice Steward of Knight Frank Anne Porter.

"In the greater Cape Town area, 27 zoning systems are being used, each applying to a particular area and having different rules and regulations.

"City of Cape Town will be bringing in a new zoning system to replace the existing 27 with one single updated and modernised scheme that will apply the same rules to the entire city.

"The standardised system, it is thought, will bring in consistency and efficiency in the future.

"At the moment rules vary greatly; what you can do on a property in certain parts of Claremont, for example, is quite different from what is allowed in Llandudno, even if they are both single residential properties."